Historical union of doctors from all over the State to demand their own statute: "We do not rule out any measure"

BarcelonaThe law that regulates the working conditions of health professionals in Spain has not been updated for 22 years and the Ministry of Health has been working for months on a new framework statute that must be presented this year. But the future regulation has raised a lot of dust and has unleashed weeks of back-and-forth and cross-criticism between the unions and the Spanish government. A month ago, representatives of doctors from all over the State demonstrated at the doors of the ministry in Madrid, and this Wednesday they have gone a step further to ask a unique statute that exclusively regulates the professional conditions of doctors, different from the rest of health professionals. Up to 16 organizations from Spain –most of them unions– have met in Barcelona to present the Professional Association for a Medical and Faculty Statute (APEMYF), a new formation that wants to be a tool of pressure and dialogue with the Spanish government to channel all medical demands.

"We believe that it is essential to open a channel of conversation and negotiation. We will do everything in our power: we do not rule out any measure to achieve our objectives," warned the general secretary of Doctors of Catalonia, Xavier Lleonart, during the presentation of this common front. The first measure that the new formation plans is a meeting with the Ministry of Health to transfer all the proposals that they consider should be implemented to define what the profession of doctors will be like in the next 20 years. Angela Hernandez, general secretary of the Association of Doctors and Higher Graduates of Madrid (AMYTS), believes that it is necessary to give dialogue a chance, but she has stressed that they want a response within a week. "We have been waiting for 22 years, patience lasts little," she insisted.

Since 2003, when the current regulatory framework was approved, there have been cuts, strikes, a pandemic and adeterioration of the physical and mental health of professionals, who have been demanding more hands and better working conditions for years. Beyond a better provision of professionals, this new state collective is demanding an end to precarious contracts, the elimination of on-call shifts, guaranteeing that the time they work beyond their working hours is voluntary and with incentives, updating salaries so that they are similar to those in the rest of Europe and setting up a state mobility system so that professionals.

For all these reasons, this union of doctors defends the need to create a negotiating table exclusively for doctors with the ministry – emulating the permanent working table of doctors

"Legislating without taking into account those who are legislated is not a good idea," said Lleonart, who expressed confidence that the Ministry of Health will listen to them and they will be able to sit down to negotiate to defend the interests of doctors. For the moment, they are waiting for the Spanish government's response and are not advancing new measures. "Going on strike is premature and we believe that it should be the last option," added Hernández, who clarified that if it has to be done, they will do it, although he is confident that with the new formation they will listen to them.

Hernández and Lleonart assured that the new group will be present with its own banner at the demonstration on March 22 in Madrid for its own statute, called by the Spanish Confederation of Medical Unions (CESM) and to which other organizations have adhered. However, they assure that they do not support as an organization the call for a strike throughout Spain for May 23. When the time comes, they said, each organization that is part of the new group will decide what it wants to do.